Alternate Names: Seme, Sému, Siémou, Siemu, Syémou
Dialects: Bandougou. Minor dialect differences between villages and within Orodara. The Bandougou dialect is considered different, but intelligibility among dialects seems adequate. No closely related languages.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 20,000 in Burkina Faso (1999). Population total all countries: 40,000.
Language Use: Vigorous. Also use French [fra], Jula [dyu].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: A few in Jula, some in French. Bible portions: 2009.
Typology: SOV; postpositions; genitives, articles, personal pronouns before noun heads; adjectives, numerals after noun heads; question word final for yes-no questions; content question words appear in normal position: e.g., S-O-adverbial-O of prep; word order distinguishes subjects and objects; CV, CVC, CCV; tonal.
Nation of Origin: Burkina Faso
Other Comments: Previously classified as Mande. Their tradition says they came from the south. Traditional religion, Muslim.